A bolt of lightning struck a building housing a generator at the governor's mansion earlier this month, throwing the compound into darkness and causing more than $62,000 in damage.

According to a memo from the General Services Department made public this week, the bolt struck the afternoon of Aug. 3, the same day a torrential storm rolled through Santa Fe.

A spokesman said Gov. Susana Martinez was not at the compound north of downtown Santa Fe when the bolt damaged controls to a generator.

The mansion's gate and telephone lines were rendered inoperable. The department reported having to repair the security system, too.

The residence was out of electricity for about an hour, according to the department.

Martinez is staying at the residence, but the department plans further measures to prevent such problems by installing a backup battery.

Maybe it was inevitable lightning would strike the governor's mansion, politics aside.

The home sits perched on a hill overlooking Santa Fe at an elevation of nearly 7,200 feet.

The lightning bolt was just one of many ways monsoon storms have wreaked havoc on parts of Northern New Mexico, with flash flooding around Santa Fe as well as further damage around areas recently scorched by wildfire.